Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy: Two case reports and literature review.

RATIONALE: Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy (PTTM) is a rare but serious complication in patients with malignancy; its main manifestation includes acute pulmonary hypertension with severe respiratory distress. More than 200 cases have been reported since it was first identified in 1990. PTTM accounts for approximately 0.9% to 3.3% of deaths due to malignancy, but only a minority of patients are diagnosed ante-mortem, with most patients having a definitive diagnosis after autopsy. PATIENT CONCERNS: Two middle-aged women both died within a short period of time due to progressive dyspnea and severe pulmonary hypertension. DIAGNOSES: One patient was definitively confirmed as a gastrointestinal malignant tumor by liver puncture biopsy pathology. Ultimately, the clinical diagnosis was pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy. INTERVENTIONS: The patient was treated symptomatically with oxygen, diuresis, and anticoagulation, while a liver puncture was perfected to clarify the cause. OUTCOMES: Two cases of middle-aged female patients with rapidly progressive pulmonary hypertension and respiratory failure resulted in death with malignant neoplasm. LESSONS: PTTM has a rapid onset and a high morbidity and mortality rate. Our clinicians need to be more aware of the need for timely diagnosis through a targeted clinical approach, leading to more targeted treatment and a better prognosis.

Clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors in invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast.

Introduction: Invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) treatment only relies on the standard treatment of nonspecific invasive breast cancer (NSIBC), and it remains controversial whether the survival of patients improves. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the clinicopathological features of IMPC and to investigate the factors affecting its prognosis. Material and methods: This retrospective cohort study included 104 IMPC patients who met the study's inclusion criteria out of a total of 4,532 patients with invasive breast cancer between January 2015 and December 2019. A contemporaneous cohort of 230 patients with non-specific invasive breast cancer (NSIBC) who underwent surgery was identified and matched using propensity scores. Results: The survival rate for patients with IMPC ranged from 1.12% to 7.03%. Statistically significant differences were observed in the proportion of endocrine treatment, lymphatic invasion, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive rate, molecular subtypes, molecular typing, and 5-year loco-regional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS) between the two cohorts (p < 0.05). The univariate analysis showed that T stage, N stage, lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion, ER-positive rate, and progesterone receptor (PR)-negative rate were all prognosis risk factors (p < 0.05) for IMPC. Furthermore, the multivariate analysis indicated that lymphatic invasion and N stage were independent prognostic factors (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The incidence of micropapillary IMPC, among other pathological subtypes, is steadily increasing. ER-positive and PR-positive rates, as well as luminal subtypes, are frequent, with a concurrent increase in the 5-year locoregional recurrence rate. It would be interesting to compare the effect following these therapeutic modifications in larger cohorts in future studies.

Mitochondrial carrier homolog 2 increases malignant phenotype of human gastric epithelial cells and promotes proliferation, invasion, and migration of gastric cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: The precise role of mitochondrial carrier homolog 2 (MTCH2) in promoting malignancy in gastric mucosal cells and its involvement in gastric cancer cell metastasis have not been fully elucidated. AIM: To determine the role of MTCH2 in gastric cancer. METHODS: We collected 65 samples of poorly differentiated gastric cancer tissue and adjacent tissues, constructed MTCH2-overexpressing and MTCH2-knockdown cell models, and evaluated the proliferation, migration, and invasion of human gastric epithelial cells (GES-1) and human gastric cancer cells (AGS) cells. The mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), mitochondrial permeability transformation pore (mPTP) and ATP fluorescence probe were used to detect mitochondrial function. Mitochondrial function and ATP synthase protein levels were detected via Western blotting. RESULTS: The expression of MTCH2 and ATP2A2 in gastric cancer tissues was significantly greater than that in adjacent tissues. Overexpression of MTCH2 promoted colony formation, invasion, migration, MMP expression and ATP production in GES-1 and AGS cells while upregulating ATP2A2 expression and inhibiting cell apoptosis; knockdown of MTCH2 had the opposite effect, promoting overactivation of the mPTP and promoting apoptosis. CONCLUSION: MTCH2 can increase the malignant phenotype of GES-1 cells and promote the proliferation, invasion, and migration of gastric cancer cells by regulating mitochondrial function, providing a basis for targeted therapy for gastric cancer cells.

CircRNA SMARCC1 Sponges MiR-140-3p to Regulate Cell Progression in Colorectal Cancer.

PURPOSE: Our objective was to investigate the effect of circSMARCC1 on the developmental and biological behavior of colorectal cancer (CRC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression of circSAMRCC1 and miR-140-3p in CRC tissues and cell lines (SW620, HCT116, HT29 and SW480) and a normal cell line (NCM460) was detected using qRT-PCR. The expression levels of circSMARCC1 and its linear subtype were detected. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed for the evaluation of the localization of circSAMRCC1 and miR-140-3p in the SW620 cell line. The effects of circSAMRCC1 and miR-140-3p on cell proliferation were investigated using CCK8 and colony formation assays, respectively. The effects of circSAMRCC1 and miR-140-3p on cell migration and invasion were determined using Transwell assay. The binding relationship between circSMARCC1 and miR-140-3p was further assessed by bioinformatics, ChIRP analysis and double luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS: The expression of circSAMRCC1 in the CRC tissues and four cell lines is significantly increased, and circSMARCC1 and miR-140-3p are negatively correlated with expression level in the tissue. The downregulation of circSMARCC1 decreased CRC cell viability and suppressed metastasis in vitro and Inhibition of protein (MMP-2, MMP-9, VEGF) expression. miR-140-3p is downregulated in CRC tissues; miR-140-3p mimics inhibited SW620 cell viability, migration and invasion, and miR-140-3p inhibitors reversed the the effect of circSMARCC1 downregulation on cell proliferation, migration and invasion in CRC cells. CONCLUSION: circSMARCC1 competitively combined with miR-140-3p and functioned through a circSMARCC1/miR-140-3p/MMPs axis as a CRC carcinogen, demonstrating its potential as a biomarker for CRC treatment.

Copulation Exerts Significant Effects on mRNA Expression of Cryptochrome Genes in a Moth.

It is recognized that the behavioral rhythms of organisms are controlled by the circadian clock, while the reverse direction, i.e., whether changes in physiology and behavior react to the internal rhythms, is unclear. Cryptochromes (CRYs) are photolyase-like flavoproteins with blue-light receptor function and other functions on circadian clock and migration in animals. Here, we cloned the full-length cDNA of CRY1 and CRY2 in Spodoptera litura (Fabricius, 1775) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Sl-CRYs show high similarity to orthologs from other insects, and their conserved regions contain a DNA photolyase domain and a FAD-binding seven domain. The expression levels of both genes were relatively low during the larval stage, which increased during the pupal stage and then peaked at the adult stage. The expression of Sl-CRY1 and Sl-CRY2 showed differences between males and females and between scotophase and photophase. Further, our study demonstrated that copulation has a significant effect on the expression of Sl-CRYs. More interestingly, the changes in the expression of Sl-CRY1 and Sl-CRY2 due to copulation showed the same trend in both sexes, in which the expression levels of both genes in copulated males and females decreased in the subsequent scotophase after copulation and then increased significantly in the following photophase. Considering the nature of the dramatic changes in reproductive behavior and physiology after copulation in S. litura, we propose that the changes in the expression of Sl-CRYs after copulation could have some function in the reproductive process.

Erratum to "Whole-Body Vibration Exercise for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2015/758147.].

Identification and RNA Interference of the Pheromone Biosynthesis Activating Neuropeptide (PBAN) in the Common Cutworm Moth Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

Spodoptera litura F. is one of the most destructive insect pests of many agricultural crops and notorious for developing insecticide resistance. Developing environmental friendly control methods such as novel pheromone and RNAi-related control strategies is imperative to control this pest. In the present study, the full-length cDNA encoding the diapause hormone and pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (DH-PBAN) was identified and characterized in S. litura. This 809-bp transcript contains a 573-nucleotide ORF encoding a 191-amino acid protein, from which five putative neuropeptides, including PBAN, DH, and α-, ß-, and γ-subesophageal ganglion neuropeptides, were derived. Phylogenetic analysis showed that both the whole protein and each of the five neuropeptides have high similarities to those of DH-PBANs from other insect orders particularly Lepidoptera. Females treated with TKYFSPRLamide (the active core fragment of PBAN) produced significantly more four types of pheromone compounds (A; B; C; D) than controls. RNA interference by injection of PBAN dsRNA significantly reduced the relative expression levels of this gene in adult females (approximately reduced by 60%). As a consequence, females treated with PBAN dsRNA produced significantly less four types of pheromone compounds (A; B; C; D) than controls. These results suggest that PBAN function in activating sex pheromone biosynthesis and the RNAi of DH-PBAN gene can be induced by the injection of dsRNA into the body cavity in S. litura. This study suggests the possibility of novel pheromone-related pest control strategies based on RNAi techniques.

Whole-Body Vibration Exercise for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives. To assess the effects of WBV exercise on patients with KOA. Methods. Eight databases including Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Web of Science, the Physiotherapy Evidence Database, CNKI, and Wanfang were searched up to November 2014. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of WBV for KOA were eligible. The outcomes were pain intensity, functional performances, self-reported status, adverse events, and muscle strength. A meta-analysis was conducted. Results. Five trials with 168 participants provided data for the meta-analysis. No significant difference was shown in pain intensity and self-reported status between WBV and other forms of exercise. Improvement in functional performance (evaluated by BBS; WMD, 2.96; 95% CI, 1.29 to 4.62; P = 0.0005) was greater in WBV group, but the other parameters of functional performance (including 6MWT and TGUG) revealed no statistically significant difference. Adverse events were only reported in one trial and no significant difference was discovered in muscle strength. The overall quality of evidence was very low. Conclusion. Currently there is only limited evidence that suggested that WBV is effective in the treatment of KOA. Large, well-designed RCTs with better designs are needed.

Effects of tai chi program on neuromuscular function for patients with knee osteoarthritis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of disability as well as a burden on healthcare resources. Tai chi has been proposed as an alternative and complementary treatment for the management of knee osteoarthritis, but there appears to be no consensus on its usefulness. This study aims to develop an innovative tai chi rehabilitation program (ITCRP) for patients with knee OA, and to investigate the effect of ITCRP intervention on a range of outcomes including pain, function, balance, neuromuscular response, and biomechanics in knee OA. METHODS/DESIGN: We will conduct a prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled trial of 140 individuals with symptomatic knee OA. Patients will be randomly assigned into either an ITCRP group or a control group. The ITCRP group will participate in tai chi two or three times a week for 6 months. The control group will receive health education. After the 6-month intervention period, there will be a 6-month follow-up period with no active intervention in either group. The primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Primary outcome measures will be a visual analog scale for pain, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index,and the Lequesne Knee Score. The secondary outcome measures will include the Berg balance scale, knee and ankle proprioception, neuromuscular response, and 3D functional biomechanics. Furthermore, adverse events will be recorded and analyzed. If any participants withdraw from the trial, intention-to-treat analysiswill be performed. DISCUSSION: Important features of this trial include the randomization procedures, large sample size, and a standardized protocol for ITCRP for knee OA. This study aims to determine the feasibility of ITCRP for knee OA and provide data on the effects of ITCRP. Hence, our results will be useful for patients with knee OA as well as for medical staff and healthcare decision makers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR-TRC-13003264.